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Horseborn Lore Recap!

Horseborn Race Review

Until recently, the horseborn were thought to be only legend. When the races were being created by the gods, the horseborn were a result of men and beast. But during these times, common horses also existed and roamed freely. Over time, the horseborn became concerned about their relationship with the simple beasts, and infuriated by the treatment and enslavement of horses by mankind. Without any singular leader, some of the horseborn chose to ignore the issue, others turned into a growing movement of outrage. An angry uprising of horseborn swept across the land, slaughtering every horse they could find to remove themselves from the comparison and to free their horse "ancestors" from their fate as beasts of burden. When the blood cleared from their vision, the horseborn felt deeply conflicted about what they had done, and chose to cut ties with the other races completely, fleeing south onto the open plains. They hadn't been seen again for generations, long enough to question whether they ever existed at all... until the darkness drove them from their homelands and back into contact with the other races.

The horseborn live nomadically, travelling far distances with the weather and carrying everything they own. Fights for dominance are often vicious and over quickly- unlike the other races, the horseborn rarely live more than thirty years of age, as they grow quickly from youth to adulthood. Due to this they often see life as more of a physical competition than their human counterparts, and consider conflict and death a natural part of life.

A respected warrior and Teulu of his tribe, Ro'Ech joined the caravan near the southern town of Lundar, alongside his partner Derdriu. Ro'Ech rarely backs down from a confrontation, always worried that he'll be overtaken by a younger, more capable leader. Derdriu is the cautious voice that keeps Ro'Ech from becoming too reckless. Her family and clan wiped out by a previously friendly herd, she holds onto a deep distrust for everyone but her partner. When the calamity came to the southern plains, Ro'Ech and Derdriu were some of the first to lead their clans north and consider a tentative alliance with the other races in the name of survival.

Unusual amongst the horseborn tribes, duty-bound Scathach is one of the few who had regular contact with the other races even before the calamity. As a trader of goods, he has spent significant time with the kragsmen of the southern bogs and as a result can speak a little more fluently with men than others of his kind.

Though intelligent and thoughtful, time on the road with valuable goods in tow has made Scathach no stranger to self-defense with a flail. As the darkness spread over his homeland, he was one of the first to seek out answers beyond the open plains of his homeland.

The strong leader of a powerful horseborn clan, Canary is renowned for an uncommon combination of unpredictable and aggressive behavior mixed with charismatic leadership. Within the horseborn communities, Canary is a well-known person to be feared and respected, headstrong and a terror in one-on-one combat. She leads her people with a prophecy of uniting those who walk on four legs with those who walk on two.

However, in her early run-ins with mankind since the darkness appeared, there is evidence her horseborn pillaged and slaughtered a large town of innocent men and women. How this all fits into the bigger picture remains to be seen.

Canary the Horseborn looked a bit different during her concept phase. We really like the way she turned out.

The horseborn are as fast and powerful as you'd expect a race of half-horses to be, but what really sets them apart from other characters is their mobility. The male Teulu employ hit and run tactics, laying down damage and getting a second chance to move themselves out of harm's way. Meanwhile, the female Cantref can exert themselves to move twice as far when necessary. A herd of organized horseborn working together can be an absolute terror on the battlefield. Through years of in-fighting, the horseborn have also come up with clever tactics to gain the advantage against foes of their own type: between pinning enemies in place, pushing them around with vicious kicks and poisoning their weapons, horseborn are experts at immobilizing highly-armor enemies and exposing them to ranged onslaughts.